November Real Estate Review for South Lake Tahoe

Although there was a slight decline in the number of single family homes sold in South Lake Tahoe, November still yielded 41 home sales. The single family home closings were only down 5 units from October when 46 houses were sold. October and November had tied for the most single family home sales so far in 2009 with 46.

The number of distress sales in November was also down from October. There were 13 bank owned foreclosures that sold in November, down from 16 in October. There were 2 short sales that closed escrow in November, down from 4 in October. Distress sales accounted for 37% of the single family home closings in November compared to 43% in October.

November Statistics for South Lake Tahoe Single Family Home Sales

• There were 41 Single Family Homes sold in November
• The average sales price for the homes sold was $386,217 (Down from $440,393 in October)
• The median sales price for the homes sold was $$320,000 (Down from $323,500 in October)
• The average price per square foot for the homes sold was $222 (Down from $239 in October)
• The average days on the market was 158
• The median days on the market was 122
• There were 13 bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in November
• There were 2 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that sold in November

Real Estate agents in South Lake Tahoe are still struggeling with getting short sales closed. According to the South Lake Tahoe mls, there are now 40 short sales currently in escrow, and only 2 short sales actually closed escrow last month. There has been a total of 32 short sale closings so far this year on the South lake Tahoe mls compared to 124 bank owned foreclosures that have closed escrow.

The bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still selling quickly and for close to asking price. The foreclosures that sold within 31 to 60  days of being listed sold for 101.86% of the list price. That percentage dropped to 90.27% of the list price for the 5 foreclosures that were on the market for longer than 120 days.

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure Statistics for November

• There were 13 bank owned foreclosures sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls in November
• The average selling price for the foreclosures was $263,838 (Down from $308,838 in October)
• The median selling price for the foreclosures was $189,900 (Down from $282,500 in October)
• The average price per square foot was $197 (Up from $184 in October)
• The 2 foreclosures that sold with in 30 days of being listed sold for 96.46% of the list price (including the escrow period)
• The 3 foreclosures that sold from 31 to 60 days of being listed sold for an average of 101.86% of the list price.
• The 3 foreclosures that sold from 61 to 90 days of being listed sold for an average of 100.5% of the list price.
• The 5 foreclosures that sold from 120+ days on the market sold for an average of 90.27% of the list price.

Currently on the South Lake Tahoe MLS there are 398 single family houses listed and 96 of them are currently in escrow.  There are 75 short sale listings and 40 of the short sales are in escrow. Foreclosures account for 42 of the single family homes on the market and 20 of the foreclosures are currently in escrow.

With the extension of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit until April 30, 2010 and the addition of the $6500 current homeowner tax credit, it will be interesting to see what happens to the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market during the rest of 2009 and beyond!

Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe for the Month of July

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market had another solid month of activity on the sale of single family homes. There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that closed escrow in the month of July, there were 38 homes that had sold in June. With three consecutive months of increasing home sales across the country, South Lake Tahoe seems to be following a similar story.

Statistics for the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in July

• There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in July
• There were 9 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe sold in July
• Only one short sale was sold in July
• The average sales price was $395,570 ( up 11% from $352,555 in June)
• The median sales price was $353,000 (  up 12% from $310,000 in June)
• The average price per square foot was $238 ( up 4% from $229 in June)

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe were still popular with home buyers in the month of July. Currently there are 38 foreclosures listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and 20 of them are in escrow. The foreclosures that sold in July had an average sales price per square foot of $204, a median sales price of $305,000, and an average sales price of $320,767. The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in the first 60 days sold for an average of 105.7% above the listing price. The multiple offer situations that the bank owned properties are having is causing the homes to sell for above asking price.

There are 472 single family homes that are available on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and there are 96 homes that are currently in escrow. Out of the 96 homes that are in escrow, 33 are short sales and 20 are foreclosures bringing the percentage of “distress sale” escrows to 55%.

August should be another strong month in terms of home sales with the number of current escrows at close to 100. There seems to be continuing good news about the economy, and it will be interesting to see if and how it will affect the South Lake Tahoe real estate market.

 Please give Brent and Jill Johnson a call for more information about real estate in South Lake Tahoe!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for June

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is continuing to attract buyers looking to purchase homes at values around 35% less than what they were in 2006! According to the South Lake Tahoe mls, there were 38 single family homes that sold in June with a median sales price was $310,000, 35% less than the median sales price was in June of 2006. The average price per square foot was also down 38% from $370 in 2006 to $229 in 2009.

The attractive home prices, low interest rates, and the $8,000 first time buyers tax credit contributed to an increase in sales from 26 homes sold in May to 38 homes sold in June. The number of bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in June dropped 2 units from 11 sales in May, to 9 sales in June. June also saw 5 short sale closings, no single family home short sales were reported in May on the South Lake Tahoe mls.

Statistics for the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in June

• There were 38 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in June
• 9 of the houses sold were bank owned foreclosures
• 5 of the houses sold were short sales
• The average sales price was $352,555 (down 2% from $360,169 in May)
• The median sales price was $310,000 (down 2% from $315,000 in May)
• The average price per square foot was $229 (up 3% from $222 in May)
• The average days on the market was 184

The bank owned foreclosures that sold in June were a major contributor to the decline in the median and average sales prices. The average sales price for the 9 foreclosures that sold in June was $288,456, compared to an average sales price of $416,350 for the non-foreclosures. The median sales price for the foreclosures sold was $289,000, compared to $376,000 for non-foreclosures. Average price per square foot was only $176 for the foreclosures, and was $253 for the non foreclosures. Most of the foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe are in need of at least some kind of work which contributes to the lower sales prices.

With 31 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that are currently in escrow, it was great to see that 5 short sales closed escrow in June considering that there were no short sales that closed escrow in May. The short sale listings that closed escrow in June had an average sales price of $283,200, a median sales price of $290,000, and an average sales price per square foot of $212.

South Lake Tahoe home buyers also put 44 single family houses in escrow during the month of June. The number of June escrows is down from 56 in May, but up from 43 in April. The number of distress sales that went into escrow in June decreased with only 3 foreclosures and 8 short sales that went into escrow.

Statistics for the Single Family Homes in South Lake Tahoe went into Escrow in June

• There were 44 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that went into escrow in June
• The average list price for the new escrows was $451,525
• The median list price was $304,500
• The average price per square foot was $277
• 8 of the homes are short sales
• 3 of the homes are bank owned foreclosures

Activity on lots in South Lake Tahoe picked up slightly in June with 5 lots sold, and 3 lots that went into escrow. 625 Tahoe Island Drive was a bank owned lot that had a list price of $74,900, received multiple offers and sold well above asking price at $125,000. There were also two lots in the Tahoe Keys on Venice Drive that sold with allocations.

Condos in South Lake Tahoe also improved with 8 new escrows and 3 sales. Two of the condos that went into escrow and one of the condos that sold were in the Tahoe Keys.

To find out more on how to take advantage of the low interest rates, the $8,000 first time home-buyer tax credit, and the low South Lake Tahoe real estate prices, call Brent and Jill Johnson at (530) 416-2625 today!

Short Sales Are Here to Stay!

The number of short sale listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls has been on the rise, and many buyers are now giving short sale transactions a chance. Out of the 519 single family homes on the market in South Lake Tahoe, 75 are listed as short sales. Currently 32 of the 75 short sale listings in South Lake Tahoe are in escrow.

With so many homeowners in trouble or upside down on their mortgages, lenders are now realizing that short sales can be a better option than foreclosure. According to Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar“While many complain that lenders are foreclosing too aggressively, and others claim a wave of foreclosure sales is imminent, the data actually shows that lenders are doing everything possible to delay foreclosure. The reality is that we have very few homeowners being foreclosed on when viewed as a percentage of those scheduled to be foreclosed on, delinquent, or upside down on their mortgage.”

Although lenders are taking short sales seriously, the process is still far from seamless. The time that it takes to get an approval on a short sale is one of the biggest challenges that we are facing. It can take from as few as a couple of weeks to over 6 months to get an approval or to have a negotiator assigned to a short sale file. This time can be cut down by having a real estate agent with experience in short sales. It is extremely important to submit a 100% complete short sale package so that the lender will take your file seriously!

So far this year there have been 158 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that have been reported as sold on the the mls. WIth only 13 out of the 158 homes (8%) sold as short sales, the number of short sale closings is still relatively low. Now that there are 32 short sales in escrow, it will be interesting to see how many of them close in the next few months.

With so many homeowners upside down in their mortgages, it will be essential for lenders to continue to streamline the short sale process. Now that buyers, sellers, and lenders are realizing the benefits of short sales, short sales are here to stay!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Market Update

June is starting off to be a great month for the South Lake Tahoe real estate market. Although the weather has been hit or miss, the South Shores home sales have been stable. So far this month there have been 26 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that have gone into escrow, and 15 homes that have sold.

With the 26 new houses in escrow this month, the total number of single family homes on the South Lake Tahoe mls now in escrow is up to 96. There are 498 total single family listings on the mls, and with 96 of them in escrow, 19% of the current inventory is in escrow.

The statistics for the houses that have gone into escrow so far this month are as follows:

• The median list price for the new escrows is $365,423
• The median days on the market was 58
• The median square footage is 1,739
• The average price per square foot is $255
• 5 of the new escrows were bank owned foreclosure listings
• 4 of the new escrows were short sales

In June of 2008 the median sales price for single family homes in South Lake Tahoe was $415,000

In June of 2007 the median sales price for single family homes in South Lake Tahoe was $465,000

In June of 2006 the median sales price for single family homes in South Lake Tahoe was $485,000

In June of 2005 the median sales price for single family homes in South Lake Tahoe was $425,000

In June of 2004 the median sales price for single family homes in South Lake Tahoe was $340,000

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is on track to match or exceed the sales and escrows that were reported in May. I will post the end of the month South Lake Tahoe real estate review on the first of July, and I am looking forward to another great month!

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